LeMond's Pre-TDF prediction: LA will not start or pull out!

[oldschoolnik]

Greg LeMond:
My Lance Armstrong prediction? Either he will not start or he will pull out just before the race enters France. I have a feeling that the world of cycling is about to change for the better.


What does LeMond know?


http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/greg-lemond/the-art-of-peaking-for-the-tour-de-france

 

[alberto.legstrong]

I hope he hasn't been reading our forum! We're wrong a lot more than we're right!

 

[Mainerider]

Just saw that......pretty bold prediction. I guess we'll know more tomorrow.

Looks like GL has signed with cyclingnews to do commmentary for the Tour....my bet is it won't be boring !!

 

[FastMatt]

Is Lance such a force? It seems everyone is going mad trying to predict him not riding in the TDF this year. Are they that afraid of him winning an 8th TDF? C'mon, he will be competitive but I doubt he will podium.

I am not defending Lance. I will wait and see what happens rather than speculate on what might be.

 

[Barrus]

IS he thinking LA would crash in stage 3, there is no other way he could possibly pull out now

 

[Oldman]

IS he thinking LA would crash in stage 3, there is no other way he could possibly pull out now

I've been certain of a dramatic end to his career. GL can't know what's in LA's mind, however. I don't think they are Facebook girlfriends.

 

[montel]

IS he thinking LA would crash in stage 3, there is no other way he could possibly pull out now

I was wondering the same thing about him crashing on an early stage - either that or he gets sick. That is if he does pull out of the race or not start at all - many in the clinic would feel vindicated if it does happen.

However that being said, I am a bit torn between two things; wanting to see him race against Contador and the Shlecks, or seeing the truth about doping in cycling finally going mainstream...

Guess I figure they are all on some form of sauce now, just keeping it at the "passport level". I am skeptical about most major sports now, but have known for years that pro cycling was very dirty.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

IS he thinking LA would crash in stage 3, there is no other way he could possibly pull out now

I really can't see Lance not riding as far as he can and I fully expect him to finish.

But GL's comments "just before the race enters France" would seem as though there may be a welcoming committee for Lance at the French border that he would rather not meet.

I really hope this prediction is true though......

I have a feeling that the world of cycling is about to change for the better

 

[jonjungel]

To me it seemed more like Lemond was taking a shot at LA, rather than a real prediction.

Haters gonna hate, but I would prefer they grew up. And that applies to both sides of the argument.

 

[Cobblestones]

But GL's comments "just before the race enters France" would seem as though there may be a welcoming committee for Lance at the French border that he would rather not meet.

which would be strange since LA just came from France.

 

[Oldman]

I really can't see Lance not riding as far as he can and I fully expect him to finish.

But GL's comments "just before the race enters France" would seem as though there may be a welcoming committee for Lance at the French border that he would rather not meet.

I really hope this prediction is true though......

I'd wondered earlier about the French legal ability to hold him for alleged crimes committed on French ground. They certainly had all the Festina boys locked down in a small room with hot lights. Could that happen and what would his right to counsel be? Don't know much about French criminal law except you get locked up first and get proven innocent second.

 

[Thee_chisa]

i wonder what greg has heard? always had time for the guy, i remember getting into cycling as roche won in 87, and it was nice after that to have an english speaking rider to cheer on, no jingoism, i was just a kid and i "understood" lemond a lot better than those weird foreigners like fignon

 

[Thee_chisa]

I'd wondered earlier about the French legal ability to hold him for alleged crimes committed on French ground. They certainly had all the Festina boys locked down in a small room with hot lights. Could that happen and what would his right to counsel be? Don't know much about French criminal law except you get locked up first and get proven innocent second.

wasn't it valverde who couldn't ride in a certain country and had to drop out of a GT due to this?

 

[crispy]

While I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out LA is doing something shady, this kind of comment from LeMond makes me question LeMond's credibility (and sanity). I'm sure LeMond did some questionable things in his day too. And now he's whining about what other people are doing today. Give it a rest already.

I read his post and found it mildly interesting but then I got to that last statement and thought, "wow, what a wacko!"

 

[MacRoadie]

While I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out LA is doing something shady, this kind of comment from LeMond makes me question LeMond's credibility (and sanity). I'm sure LeMond did some questionable things in his day too. And now he's whining about what other people are doing today. Give it a rest already.

I read his post and found it mildly interesting but then I got to that last statement and thought, "wow, what a wacko!"

Nice. Start off with a mild, general qualifier smelling like an anti-Lance post, then finish up with a strong LeMond slam.

Alaways one of the better pages in the Fanboy playbook.

 

[Publicus]

Lance isn't dropping out because of any doping allegations. Greg had a prediction, not unsimilar to many have made here in the past. I wouldn't put too much on it. Unless there is some sort of bombshell in the WSJ piece....

 

[kurtinsc]

Even if the French were to announce that they plan to take him into custody if he enters France... I can't see Lance backing down from this.

He might "fake an illness" or something, but barring that I think he's going to make someone else take him out/kick him out of the race. Even if the article makes him look REALLY bad... he's going to say the same things he's said in the past, and make them force him out (at which point he'd claim to be the victim).

I think he'd have to be very sure that he'd be going to prison for a long time before he'd take the PR hit that anything like an admission of guilt would get him.

If Lance doesn't make it to France, I don't think it will be because he quits... but rather because ASO kicks him out or he gets arrested by French authorities.

 

[CycloErgoSum]

While I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out LA is doing something shady, this kind of comment from LeMond makes me question LeMond's credibility (and sanity). I'm sure LeMond did some questionable things in his day too. And now he's whining about what other people are doing today. Give it a rest already.

I read his post and found it mildly interesting but then I got to that last statement and thought, "wow, what a wacko!"

It was a bit discontinuous finishing like that; it wasn't in keeping with the rest of the article - was Greg leading up to demonstrating lance's stressful start to the Tour and the potential effect on him?. CN doesn't post things by riders/guests unedited though: was the piece chopped up by a production editor and made to end like that?

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Think its time to drop this in here:

 

[steelguitar]

Lemond commentary won't be boring?

Just saw that......pretty bold prediction. I guess we'll know more tomorrow.

Looks like GL has signed with cyclingnews to do commmentary for the Tour....my bet is it won't be boring !!

His article about peaking was pathetic. he offered a little info about the process, a lot of whining about guys he used to beat who dropped him and made a big excuse about fatigue and overtraining costing him the 92 tour. Every article he writes will throw a bomb at Lance. Perhaps the French police found a way to link Lance and some of HIS RS teammates to the Syringes found in last years TDF. Hate to see peoples careers ruined in this manner. It will not be good for the sport.

 

[Cobblestones]

It was a bit discontinuous finishing like that; it wasn't in keeping with the rest of the article. CN doesn't post things by riders/guests unedited though: was the piece chopped up by a production editor and made to end like that?

True. It mostly was a piece about the good ole days. You know, where you had to walk to school ... during a snowstorm ... uphill ... both ways. And then BAM! Weird transition.

 

[Publicus]

Even if the French were to announce that they plan to take him into custody if he enters France... I can't see Lance backing down from this.

He might "fake an illness" or something, but barring that I think he's going to make someone else take him out/kick him out of the race. Even if the article makes him look REALLY bad... he's going to say the same things he's said in the past, and make them force him out (at which point he'd claim to be the victim).

I think he'd have to be very sure that he'd be going to prison for a long time before he'd take the PR hit that anything like an admission of guilt would get him.

If Lance doesn't make it to France, I don't think it will be because he quits... but rather because ASO kicks him out or he gets arrested by French authorities.

Totally agree. Lance is a stubborn SOB. He's not walking away. ASO would have to ask him to leave. Or the gendarmarie would have to lead him away in cuffs. Definitely could see a ToC type crash and pull out, but dude is a competitor on all levels. Defiant. That's the word that comes to mind.

 

[La Vie Claire]

While I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out LA is doing something shady, this kind of comment from LeMond makes me question LeMond's credibility (and sanity). I'm sure LeMond did some questionable things in his day too. And now he's whining about what other people are doing today. Give it a rest already.

I read his post and found it mildly interesting but then I got to that last statement and thought, "wow, what a wacko!"

Sure, that's what you'll be thinking when you read the WSJ article this weekend. Wow, what a bunch of wackos indeed!

BTW, how much does this gig of yours pay?

 

[VeloCity]

If Lance doesn't make it to France, I don't think it will be because he quits... but rather because ASO kicks him out or he gets arrested by French authorities.

May not even have that much to do with Lance individually - let's not forget that Landis directly implicated Bruyneel as well. So possibly RS as a whole will be "asked" to pull out after the WSJ article comes out?

 

[carl spackler]

Hate to see peoples careers ruined in this manner. It will not be good for the sport.

..and there it is